Normally I try my very hardest never to speak to salespeople in stores, what with their blatant ignorance and general uselessness. But I walked into the Nordstrom suit section in Santa Barbara, which serves a pretty spendy crowd. I was mostly there just to try and nail down my OTR sizing without any real intention of buying anything. Typically I should be about a 37R. I'm pretty little through the torso with 28"x31" pants. 5'11", 155lbs. Needless to say, nothing fits me.

So this douche puts me in a 36S, which looks ridiculous, and then a 38R and says

drumroll please...

"You'll grow into it, its not like your a triathlete or anything"

Now first of all, if you want to get technical, good triathletes tend to end up with big arms and chests shoulders from the swimming. I spent years racing road bikes, hence the tiny arms and chest, and take any comparison to triathlets as a personal insult (mostly because those guys don't know how to go around a corner). Second of all, don't sell me an $800 suit and tell me I'll grow into it. And third of all, at 25, I'm not getting any taller so you must be saying I'm going to get fatter? Honestly?!

Their salesman are nothing more than hounds. My local Nordstrom often have female employees working in the Men's Department. Some of the "suggestions" from them are often inane and they lack the appropriate knowledge to properly assist me. I typically only look there if I am bored and waiting for my wife or to get some ideas for shirt/tie color combinations (which are sometimes well thought out -- if only the same employees who do the staging also do the sales, it might be better). The most annoying thing is that they never leave me alone. Every 5 minutes someone asks if I need help. Once is enough, if I need help, I'll find you.

you guys are lucky though. at least they try to hound you or try to get your attention or try to help albeit useless.

the nordstrom i go to at south coast, the men's section (and the shoe section) the salespersons are so , i dont know, arrogant? , haughty?, whatever it is, they never even greet me or even look my way.
as if to say, i dont qualify for their help? i dont look like someone who would be spending any moneY?
i look like someone who looks like i dont have any money?
ok

Nordstroms has a horrible men's department by SF standards. And everything is almost always full price. Looks like the customer services in inadequate to justify it. If anything, I think the generous return policy is the only slightly redeeming quality.

you guys are lucky though. at least they try to hound you or try to get your attention or try to help albeit useless.

the nordstrom i go to at south coast, the men's section (and the shoe section) the salespersons are so , i dont know, arrogant? , haughty?, whatever it is, they never even greet me or even look my way.
as if to say, i dont qualify for their help? i dont look like someone who would be spending any moneY?
i look like someone who looks like i dont have any money?
ok

At least there not hounding you with the intention of making you leave. Don't know if yall know what I'm talking about, but sometimes a 'can i help you' sounds like gtfo. lol, I must look like someone who has no money, AND wants to steal their shit.

I was in a Nordstrom last week, casually looking at winter coats. Really had no desire to purchase, just wanted to see if there were any good sales, etc. The SA, a woman, approached me very warmly. She asked what I was looking for. I told her, but implied I wasn't going to likely purchase anything until after Xmas. Well she started to show me a bunch of different coats in different sections. I pretty much got roped into going along for the ride. At one point I tried on a nice coat at a very good price, and she was really pushing me to get it. I hate that. I hate when they are trying to make the sale. It's like when you go to look at cars to buy or lease. There at times can be such a sleaze factor to it.

The best sales reps are the ones who are knowledgeable and kind without pushing you to pull the trigger. Tell me I look great in something (if I do), provide me with some insight on the piece, but keep your distance as I'm looking in the mirror and contemplating. The best sales reps know when to say "I'll be here if you need anything".

Lastly, any SA who gives you attitude or is standoffish is a fucking loser. It's their singular responsibility to aid the potential customer. Help us if we need it. Drives me crazy when I encounter this, but I know better that those SA's are morons.

Try to keep in mind, Gents - that A: you are shopping at milquetoast central and B: these people are often not the sharpest tool in the shed - working for a pittance.... It's tough to be compassionate, but their job must really suck.

I got taken on the same tour of crap I didn't want to buy either. Before I could leave I had to try on a "Versace" jacket which they're apparently now carrying. In a 40. Which is huge on me. And it was plain black. And looked like crap. And I was supposed to be like... "oooh thats nice" because it says Versace on it.

I know they're mall store suit salesmen, but somehow I still expect slightly classier service then the macy's and men's wearhouse next door.

My local Nordstrom in Palo Alto, CA seems to differ somewhat.
Sportswear, shirts, etc is staffed by earnest, usually ignorant,
clean cut, twenty somethings, a good portion of whom are
probably students. Mens Tailored Clothing is run by experienced
old bulls who know their merchandise and even menswear in
general. Problem is that they offer boring mid-range even
provincial looking merchandise. In twenty years living near
this store, I've never purchased a major item.

I seem to have been pretty lucky with salesmen. They often leave me be after showing me whatever I asked. I don't go for the rides though. I will tell them to leave me alone if they are pushy. The best ones will tell you not to buy today; there's a sale in a week. This has saved be a decent amount of money, and will make me look for that salesman again. If it matters, I'm in Boston, so maybe there are more desperate polite people selling clothing here. I typically will brush younger saleswomen off in the men's department though. I've never met one that didn't have bad taste (for me).

Denver's Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus and Saks are great places to shop, try on suits and get clothing ideas, but not to buy. I spend my money at Nordstrom's Rack, NM Last Call and Saks Off 5th saving at least 60% of MSRP. The only reputable and knowledgeable sales people here in Denver work at two independent shops -- Lawrence Covell and Andrisen Morton. High-priced clothes, but occasionally good sales.

I told her, but implied I wasn't going to likely purchase anything until after Xmas. Well she started to show me a bunch of different coats in different sections. I pretty much got roped into going along for the ride.

Maybe she was going on the assumption that if you found something you liked, you'd return after Christmas and buy it.

Quote:

At one point I tried on a nice coat at a very good price, and she was really pushing me to get it. I hate that. I hate when they are trying to make the sale.

My local Nordstrom in Palo Alto, CA seems to differ somewhat.
Sportswear, shirts, etc is staffed by earnest, usually ignorant,
clean cut, twenty somethings, a good portion of whom are
probably students. Mens Tailored Clothing is run by experienced
old bulls who know their merchandise and even menswear in
general. Problem is that they offer boring mid-range even
provincial looking merchandise. In twenty years living near
this store, I've never purchased a major item.

The Nordstrom in PA carries some pretty high end stuff. Last time i was there about a week ago, they carried mainline Zegna and Canali, along with their usually Armani Collezioni and HF stuff. Outside of suits though, yeah the rest of the inventory is as bland as you can get. Black overcoats, solid dress shirts, s/s tommy bahama type casual shirts, and half zip sweaters.